2015 Galway Courses

Session 1: June 14–July 3, 2015

Restorative Justice: An Alternative to Retribution and Punishment

Professor Davalene Cooper
9:00 a.m.–10:50 a.m.

This course examines how restorative justice, and its processes of
encounter, reparation, and reintegration, can be used to rebuild nations after
the systematic and widespread violation of human rights. The course first
will examine restorative justice and its principles more generally, and then
explore truth and reconciliation commissions as restorative processes. In
particular, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa will be
studied.

International Law and International Humanitarian Law

Professors Ray Murphy and Shane Darcy
11:00 a.m.–12:50 p.m.

This course explores contemporary issues of international law and
international humanitarian law (IHL) or the law of armed conflict. It involves
a brief introduction to the sources of international law, an examination of
the UN Charter provisions governing the use of force, and an examination
of the concept of humanitarian intervention and UN-authorized or
UN-mandated peacekeeping operations. The course explores the concept,
purpose, and contemporary sources of IHL; the concept of armed conflict;
and the protection of civilians and the conduct of hostilities. The convention
dealing with the protection of prisoners of war is also examined. The course
refers to contemporary situations such as Iraq, Kosovo, and Afghanistan;
draws on a number of historical examples; and includes a review of the
implementation of IHL and the role of international tribunals.

Comparative Property Rights: A Human Rights Perspective

Professor Mark A. Edwards
1:00 p.m.–2:50 p.m.

This course examines foreign and domestic property law from a human rights
perspective. The course has four units: (1) conflicts between indigenous and
colonial property rights systems; (2) the role of property rights in promoting
human flourishing, comparing socialist and capitalist systems, and a special
focus on the turn-of-the-century land reforms in Ireland that dissolved
hereditary landed estates; (3) the complexities of restitution as a remedy for
mass dispossession; and (4) the application of these issues to property rights
controversies in post-apartheid South Africa. Students also will participate in
field trips to local hereditary landed estates, dissolved by Ireland’s Purchase of
Land Act of 1885.

Session 2: July 6–July 24, 2015

Cross-Cultural Negotiations and Dispute Resolution

Professor Christine D. Ver Ploeg
9:00 a.m.–10:50 a.m.

This is a highly interactive course that examines negotiation and conflict
resolution theory and practice in a cross-cultural context. Students will
examine basic dispute resolution frameworks, including general principles
of negotiation, mediation, and arbitration, with an added emphasis on the
hallmarks that distinguish cultures from each other, including different
models of communication, understanding of power, and communal as
opposed to individualistic views of society. The course will utilize many
in-class exercises to advance students’ negotiating and dispute resolution
skills in cross-cultural contexts.

Education as a Human Right

Professor Monica Teixeira de Sousa
11:00 a.m.–12:50 p.m.

The right to an education is a basic human right and is enshrined in Article
26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as other normative
instruments of the United Nations and UNESCO. This course examines
the complex law and policy issues involved in securing that right for children
living in poverty, both abroad and in the United States. Students will be
asked to consider the role that international institutions such as the World
Bank currently play in either expanding or thwarting children’s access to
quality educational opportunities. The course includes case studies from
the United States, Brazil, and Finland, among other countries, and focuses
on topics such as compulsory education, school funding, and curriculum.

Contemporary Challenges in the Protection of Human Rights
Worldwide

Professor Aoife Duffy
1:00 p.m.–2:50 p.m.

This course aims to provide students with an overview of key contemporary
challenges in the protection of human rights around the world. By the
end of the course, students should be familiar with the historical context
in which human rights norms developed, the major universal and regional
systems of human rights law, and specific issues that adversely impact the
full realization of human rights for many people across the globe.